39 years old HERATH bowls 151 overs in last 3 weeks in 3 test ( including Zim) he was injured on Thumb at Galle but continued to play,he took 389 test wickets.no wonder why his back bother him,Fast bowler Chameera likely to play in last test but SL not yet hint replacement of Herath

Good luck patel he will replaced as Jadeja out but Virat hints Kuldeep also playing.i wonder when was last time 3 spinner plays together ? Might be Pandya sits out

RahulDhawanPujaraViratRahaneAshwinR.SahaA.PatelShamiKuldeepU.Yadav==========I feel sorry for A.Mukund who hits 82 in the first test.If Anderson can see batting line up of above,he can think ""if first 3 out early,I can crush Rest of them before tea.""

Two teams at two extreme ends of the spectrum clash in the final Test of the Sri Lanka-India series at the picturesque Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, starting Saturday (August 12). In fact, arguably the only thing international about the series so far has been the grounds, and the beautiful Pallekele Stadium presents a near-perfect end to the series.

If only the same could be said about the cricket, too. Sri Lanka have been a side that has struggled to compete over the course of the last two Tests, and their opponents, India, have already run away with the series. On a batting beauty at Galle, India thumped them by 304 runs, while on a rank-turner at the SSC in Colombo was another massive innings win for Virat Kohli's side. The hosts have struggled with a spate of injuries to key players, and have been further dented by the unavailability of Rangana Herath and Nuwan Pradeep, Sri Lanka's pace and spin leads, for the third Test.

Everything points to another rout by the Indians, but Sri Lanka will walk in knowing they made their much-fancied opposition toil hard in the second innings at the SSC, and would hope that was a turn of the tide.

For India, it will just be a matter of doing more of the same since they stepped foot in Sri Lanka. Their batting looks in great form, having amassed 600 runs in both Tests, while their bowlers have followed up and delivered the victories. They are on the cusp of a historic away-series whitewash, and will hope to do so with another clinical performance.

What to expect: There was rain two days before the game, and it resulted in both teams cancelling their pre-game practice sessions on Friday. There could be more rain on the cards over the Test match. The pitch, which had been under covers overnight, underwent another drastic change a day before the game, with the greenish tinge slowly giving way to more brown. The ground staff used hard brushes and the mower to take away what grass there was left on the pitch. The track looks a hard one, and the toss could once again play a decisive factor.

Team News

Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka are without two main bowlers in Pradeep, ruled out with a hamstring injury, and Herath, with a back strain, and they will have to make a host of changes in order to fill those gaps. They should also do away with their ploy of playing just the lone pacer, like they did at the SSC. They have brought in two more pacers in Dushmantha Chameera, Lahiru Gamage for this game, and the duo would fight for the pacers' slots along with Vishwa Fernando and Lahiru Kumara. On the spin front, Malinda Pushpakumara should give way to Lakshan Sandakan after a less-than-impressive debut. Lahiru Thirimanne is also expected to return to the squad, taking the place of Dhananjaya de Silva.

India: India have relatively fewer headaches than Sri Lanka, but the suspension of the world's number one allrounder and bowler, Ravindra Jadeja, would have thrown a spanner in the works. Kuldeep Yadav should come in for the left-armer. There is no change expected to the rest of the line-up, but with the series done and dusted, don't be surprised if Kohli and Co. give the bench-warmers a chance.

- If India manage to win the third Test, it will be the first instance of them winning three Tests in a series away from home since 1968. Australia (in 2004) remains the only side to beat Sri Lanka 3-0 in a series in Sri Lanka.

- If both Lakshan Sandakan and Kuldeep Yadav make it to the respective playing XIs, it will be the first instance of two chinaman bowlers playing for the opposing teams in a Test match since 2004.

- The last time Sri Lanka played a home series (2+ Tests) without any bowler taking 10 wickets in the series was against South Africa in 2004. Their two leading wicket takers of the series - Nuwan Pradeep (6) & Rangana Herath (5) - have been ruled out of the third Test.

Kohli 57 ball 25 not out,Ashwin new batsman, Wickets suddenly helping spinner,india surely missed jadeja and non selection of Patel later part of the match.Not remember Pallekele test last for good 5 days since 1984.Srilanka has to bats last here.

Some jack ass deleted my update on Virat (42) and Ashwin (31) India 329 for 6 ends of day 1 off 90 overs.

So first time ever India scores 300 on day one, in all 3 test. OUT SIDE OF INDIACongratulations India.Ashwin batted very well till he fall to Fernando after SL tookSecond new ball, but home team back into game in DEAD RUBBER.

raja wrote:We did better than I expected.Getting 6 top-order wickets isn't bad at all.Now to keep them to under 400, and to bat sensibly.

How sensible they will bats on 4th innings? Sanat J says'' Pallekele's4th innings scores often 90-150 all out''

SL need big score and skills India out in 3rd innings,india need to cross finger without jadoo plus ASHWIN might TOO GOOD or SO/SO,KULDEEP @Chinaman Left arm Googly Could ruins SL party, or may be not but why no AXAR, still bother me.

[quote="raja"]We did better than I expected.Getting 6 top-order wickets isn't bad at all.Now to keep them to under 400, and to bat sensibly.[/q

Yes SL starts well by removing dangerous SAha for 16 but Kuldeep (26) and pandya put on 62 in no time till Kuldeep out for 26 401 for 8,Shami departs soon, at that point 421 for 9 looks end near as umesh not that good reputation as batsman for test.

But Hardik Pandya has some other idea since his test debut 50 at Galle,he not only put on 66 with Umesh but hits his maiden Test century in 96 ball with 7 sixes.India reached 487 all out.Sandakan took 5 fer.congratulation

Hardik pandya last man out for 108 with 7 sixes and 8 fours.

Last edited by Misty on Sun Aug 13, 2017 9:16 am, edited 1 time in total.

Mendis seems to me well set but A superb throw from Ash and mis communication with Chandimal ends his innings : 18Run out, All expect Spinner from one end but Kohli Turn to Hardik for first change,Matthews departs in Hardiks second over for 0.

Ya right I do not think pandya shines as much if BCCI makes change in Indian Coach/Captain. while I was out Jogging near river ( we have big south Asian, mainly from Bangalore,madras community lived in NJ area) kuldeep took 2nd wicket

111 for 6.i wish SL captain reach 50

Last edited by Misty on Sun Aug 13, 2017 10:34 am, edited 1 time in total.

Yes, BCCI won in the West Indies. Mighty opposition.They won a Test at Lord's last time but were roundly thrashed in the series, much like SA this year.

In fact, the last time BCCI won a series in England was when Dravid's team sneaked a 1-0 win in 2007 (they were lucky to get away with a draw in the first Test).

After that, they were thrashed, humiliated, whipped, flogged, smashed, crushed 0-4 in the 4-Test series in 2011. Only Dravid came out of that series with his reputation intact.

They then toured Australia and were thrashed 0-4 in the 4-Test series.Again, thrashed, humiliated, etc etcThat was when Clarke got his triple hundred, even Punter (totally out of form) came back into form to join the whipping.

When they toured England in 2014, they fared a bit better - winning the Lord's Test (thanks to Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Rahane, Ishant and some terrible 4th-innings batting by England). But they were thrashed, humiliated etc etc in the other 3 Tests.

When they toured Australia last year, they did marginally better than the previous time - but were still thrashed, humiliated etc etc, running into a rampaging Steve Smith.

Somewhere in between, they also toured South Africa and lost the series there.

Then there was the series in NZ - where McCullum got that 302 and thwarted their hopes of a series win.

So now they know their limits. They're happy to tour the West Indies and Sri Lanka. Beat these ragged sides and claim to have won "overseas".

raja wrote:Yes, BCCI won in the West Indies. Mighty opposition.They won a Test at Lord's last time but were roundly thrashed in the series, much like SA this year.

In fact, the last time BCCI won a series in England was when Dravid's team sneaked a 1-0 win in 2007 (they were lucky to get away with a draw in the first Test).

After that, they were thrashed, humiliated, whipped, flogged, smashed, crushed 0-4 in the 4-Test series in 2011. Only Dravid came out of that series with his reputation intact.

They then toured Australia and were thrashed 0-4 in the 4-Test series.Again, thrashed, humiliated, etc etcThat was when Clarke got his triple hundred, even Punter (totally out of form) came back into form to join the whipping.

When they toured England in 2014, they fared a bit better - winning the Lord's Test (thanks to Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Rahane, Ishant and some terrible 4th-innings batting by England). But they were thrashed, humiliated etc etc in the other 3 Tests.

When they toured Australia last year, they did marginally better than the previous time - but were still thrashed, humiliated etc etc, running into a rampaging Steve Smith.

Somewhere in between, they also toured South Africa and lost the series there.

Then there was the series in NZ - where McCullum got that 302 and thwarted their hopes of a series win.

So now they know their limits. They're happy to tour the West Indies and Sri Lanka. Beat these ragged sides and claim to have won "overseas".